Guo Tie - 锅贴

Guo Tie or Gyoza which is originally a Chinese dish, which has become very popular across Japan. In this recipe of mine, I will share with you how to make a simple guo tie dough. To make the Spinach Juice, just wash and soaked 3 bunches of spinach leave in water. Then remove the leaves only and add about 1/2 cup of water in a blender together with the leaves to blend until smooth. Strain and obtain only the juice, you should get about 3/4 cups or more.


In this little experiment of mine, I am making two kind of doughs(one is the plain type while the other is using spinach juice to make spinach dough). Spinach is an important leaf vegetable, now grown throughout the temperate regions of the world. Spinach is a rich source of iron. In reality, a 60g serving of boiled spinach contains around 1.9 mg of iron.

Ingredients For Pork Mince Fillings:
200g Pork Mince
1 Tablespoon Chinese Celery(芹菜叶), finely chopped
1 Teaspoon Ginger Juice
1 Teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Cornstarch

Methods:
1. Combine all the ingredients together and set aside to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or more.

Notes: You can replace the Chinese celery to Chives(韭菜).

The time consuming and difficult part of making of the dough can be skipped by buying pre-made dough pieces, which are available at some Japanese and Chinese grocery stores. But if you had time, it's a fun activities to share with family members as each can play a different role in making the dough.

After trying a few failure wrapper on wrapping a traditional Guo Tie, I finally gave up the idea and trying making this simple wrapping. I really hope to master the skill for pleating the traditional guo tie, so I am sure to challenge this recipe again.....

My final product of Guo Tie from Cuisine Paradise...... Although the shape is not up to standard but the taste is there... It's very yummy to go with the black vinegar and ginger dipping sauce......

Ingredients For Dough: (make about 10-15)
125g Plain Flour
35ml Water
35ml Cold Water
Pinch Of Salt

Methods:
1. Sift Plain Flour into a mixing bowl, then slowly pour in the water and stir using a chopstick until combined.
2. Use hand to knead the dough while adding in the cold water.(you can add abit more if it is too dry).
3. Add pinch of salt in it and continue to knead until it form a soft dough.
4. Remove and place it on a lightly flour table top and continue to knead until it's smooth and elastic(10 to 15 minutes) then rest it for at least 30 minutes then cut it into half.
5. Roll it into an oblong shape and cut it into about 20g dough then flatten it on the cut side and roll into a 8-9cm circle.
6. Wrap it with the pork mince filling and pleat it into a Guo Tie shape.(sorry can't find any picture of showing how to pleat the guo tie)
7. Preheat a non-stick pan till hot add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, tilting pan to spread evenly.
8. Arrange dumpling in the pan, being careful not to overcrowd and fry until the base is slight golden brown, add 150ml water/chicken stock, cover, and cook over high heat for approximately 2 minutes to sear bottoms.
9. Then simmer on low heat until all the water has evaporated, gently loosen dumpling with a spatula to check whether the bottoms are golden brown.
10. If not, pan-fry, uncovered, until bottoms are crisp and browned. Transfer to a platter, and serve immediately with black vinegar and shredded young ginger.

Note: To make the spinach dough, replace the wonder to spinach juice.